“I Am Ben” is a series of portraits that reflects upon the renaissance of the human spirit following childhood trauma caused by bullying and psychological abuse. Specifically, the portrait subject of the series is a 20-year-old man from the United Kingdom who was regularly taunted, beaten and bullied during his formative years in rural England simply because he was born with red hair and a pale complexion. Ben recounted to me how he was frequently taunted and, on occasion, even spat at while walking to and from school – all because he looked different from the other children. The scars of this childhood bullying ran deep and it took Ben many years before he was able to regain his self-confidence.

Anyone who has been the subject of bullying understands all too well the sense of despair that often descends into a frightening hopelessness and lack of self-confidence. Many young people who are bullied become withdrawn from their peers and from their family - and thus often experience a deep sense of loneliness and isolation, unable to talk about the source of their sadness.

My aim with these portraits was first to show Ben his unique beauty by accentuating the very things that caused him to be taunted – his red hair and pale complexion. I then asked Ben to recall the range of emotions that he experienced both during and after his childhood ordeal – from confusion, isolation, despair and ultimately self-acceptance. “I Am Ben” aims to celebrate the beauty of human diversity and shows us that, despite trauma, the human spirit is capable of great strength and, ultimately, of renaissance.

Interestingly, Ben is now a primary school teacher. He works hard to instill in his pupils a sense of self-confidence and self-worth and teaches them the importance of, and indeed, to celebrate, human diversity in all of its many manifestations.

Ode to Nietzsche

Ode to Nietzsche is a beautiful religious-themed male nude photograph by Australian artist Troy Schooneman is available for purchase as a fine art limited edition print signed and numbered by the artist.

The Soul Catcher is a beautiful fine art male portrait by Australian photographer Troy Schooneman

After Rodin XII

The Utopian Soldier IX

The Last Days

The Basketball Coach

Star of David

The Keeper of Ashes II

Exposed XXII

Portrait of Triston

I Am Ben

“I Am Ben” is a series of portraits that reflects upon the renaissance of the human spirit following childhood trauma caused by bullying and psychological abuse. Specifically, the portrait subject of the series is a 20-year-old man from the United Kingdom who was regularly taunted, beaten and bullied during his formative years in rural England simply because he was born with red hair and a pale complexion. Ben recounted to me how he was frequently taunted and, on occasion, even spat at while walking to and from school – all because he looked different from the other children. The scars of this childhood bullying ran deep and it took Ben many years before he was able to regain his self-confidence.

Anyone who has been the subject of bullying understands all too well the sense of despair that often descends into a frightening hopelessness and lack of self-confidence. Many young people who are bullied become withdrawn from their peers and from their family - and thus often experience a deep sense of loneliness and isolation, unable to talk about the source of their sadness.

My aim with these portraits was first to show Ben his unique beauty by accentuating the very things that caused him to be taunted – his red hair and pale complexion. I then asked Ben to recall the range of emotions that he experienced both during and after his childhood ordeal – from confusion, isolation, despair and ultimately self-acceptance. “I Am Ben” aims to celebrate the beauty of human diversity and shows us that, despite trauma, the human spirit is capable of great strength and, ultimately, of renaissance.

Interestingly, Ben is now a primary school teacher. He works hard to instill in his pupils a sense of self-confidence and self-worth and teaches them the importance of, and indeed, to celebrate, human diversity in all of its many manifestations.

The Returned III

The Brothers Mahmoudi

Exposed IX

Eyes of August

Blue Reflection

Ilya, 25, Israel

The King of Ithaca

Mister Evil

The Reclining Nude II

White Rodin II

Son of Sam II

I Am Ben VII

The Young David

The Renaissance Lover II

The Young Olympian

Victor

The Stagehand II

The Wandering Soul

Male Nude Art, Nude Men in Art, The Art of the Male Nude

The First Born III

Mr. Havisham

The Disciple

Brayan, 22, France

The Carpathian

The iPhone Age

The Heretic

The Fallen II

The Final Reckoning

The First Born II

The Last Farewell II

Male Nude Art by Troy Schooneman

The Last Marquess

The Last Marquess is a beautiful contemporary male nude photograph by Australian artist Troy Schooneman

Blue Narcissus

Fine art male nude photography by Troy Schooneman.

The Lost Son of Nefertiti

The Lost Son of Nefertiti is a beautiful fine art male portrait by Australian photographer Troy Schooneman

White Rodin

Philip of Pompeii

Portrait of Victor Morrow

The Architect

OP-72-00, Berlin 1936

The Animus

The Son of Modigliani

Blue Boy

Le Fou

The Utopian Soldier IX

The Utopian Soldier IX is a fine art male photograph by Troy Schooneman that is part of a collection of male portraits focused on the sport of Muay Thai. All of the portrait subjects in the series are professional Muay Thai fighters.

I Am Ben III

“I Am Ben” is a series of portraits that reflects upon the renaissance of the human spirit following childhood trauma caused by bullying and psychological abuse. Specifically, the portrait subject of the series is a 20-year-old man from the United Kingdom who was regularly taunted, beaten and bullied during his formative years in rural England simply because he was born with red hair and a pale complexion. Ben recounted to me how he was frequently taunted and, on occasion, even spat at while walking to and from school – all because he looked different from the other children. The scars of this childhood bullying ran deep and it took Ben many years before he was able to regain his self-confidence.

Anyone who has been the subject of bullying understands all too well the sense of despair that often descends into a frightening hopelessness and lack of self-confidence. Many young people who are bullied become withdrawn from their peers and from their family - and thus often experience a deep sense of loneliness and isolation, unable to talk about the source of their sadness.

My aim with these portraits was first to show Ben his unique beauty by accentuating the very things that caused him to be taunted – his red hair and pale complexion. I then asked Ben to recall the range of emotions that he experienced both during and after his childhood ordeal – from confusion, isolation, despair and ultimately self-acceptance. “I Am Ben” aims to celebrate the beauty of human diversity and shows us that, despite trauma, the human spirit is capable of great strength and, ultimately, of renaissance.

Interestingly, Ben is now a primary school teacher. He works hard to instill in his pupils a sense of self-confidence and self-worth and teaches them the importance of, and indeed, to celebrate, human diversity in all of its many manifestations.